The ordinance, which would only apply to county departments and programs, claims to address employment barriers and discrimination in the legal system, help educate women about their voting rights, and combat gender-based violence and harassment, according to its text. “I want to make sure that we emphasize that in this ordinance, it’s very clear that women and girls refer to those who identify as women and girls, including transgender women, gender non-conforming, and those assigned female at birth, who include non-binary, transgender men, and intersex communities,” Supervisor Nora Vargas said during the meeting. However, county officials have revised the original treaty by including biological males who identify as female. The supervisors approved the first reading of the local ordinance, which would be based on the U.N.’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, a human rights treaty penned 40 years ago.
San Diego County supervisors voted 3–2 on April 26 in favor of creating an ordinance that redefines the word “women” to include biological males who identify as women, despite an overwhelming show of opposition from the public.
